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Ben Baby, ESPN writer
CINCINNATI — Bengals running back Zack Moss was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and will likely be out for the rest of the season, coach Zac Taylor said.
Moss missed the team’s most recent game, a 41-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, due to a neck injury that was reported late last week. Upon further evaluation, the issue was deemed serious enough to delay further.
“We’re still gathering more information, but it doesn’t look like he’s coming back,” Taylor said before Tuesday night’s practice.
Taylor said early indications show Moss’ injury will not be career-ending, but more tests are being performed. It is also unclear when exactly the problem occurred.
“I just know at the end of the week he wasn’t feeling good,” Taylor said. “So that’s where it ended.”
In the offseason, the former Colts running back signed a two-year contract worth $8 million. When Cincinnati landed Moss, it finalized the decision to move on from Joe Mixon, who had been with the team from 2017 to 2023 and made the Pro Bowl in 2021. Mixon was ultimately traded to the Houston Texans.
At the start of the season, Moss and second-year running back Chase Brown split backfield duties. But in recent weeks, Brown has been the more productive running back. With Moss injured against the Raiders, Brown set career highs in carries (27) and rushing yards (120).
With Moss injured, the Bengals made a trade with the Chicago Bears on Tuesday for running back Khalil Herbert. The move, which was finalized just hours before the 4 p.m. deadline, sent a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to the Bears in exchange for Herbert, who was buried on Chicago’s depth chart and had just eight carries in six games this season.
Herbert arrived in Cincinnati around 2 p.m. Tuesday and was wearing his new number, 34, at team practice before Thursday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Taylor did not rule out the possibility that Herbert could be available to play in a crucial AFC North road game.
“We’ll see where it goes,” Taylor said. “I wouldn’t take it off the table.”
One of the other stories surrounding the Bengals was the future of wide receiver Tee Higgins, who is playing under the franchise tag and will become a free agent after this season. Taylor dismissed the idea that Higgins could have been moved before Tuesday’s deadline.
“Those are conversations that everyone had,” Taylor said. “We don’t.”
Higgins did not practice Tuesday night as he continues to recover from a quadriceps injury. He has missed the last two games and has been out four total this season.
